Can I Use Georgia Food Stamps in Michigan?

Many low-income people receive vouchers from the government to help them buy groceries. These vouchers, known as SNAP --- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program --- benefits or foods stamps, are provided on a monthly basis. While these benefits are issued on the state level, the program is a federal one. Therefore, benefits do not need to be used in the state in which they are issued. So, food stamps issued in Georgia can be used in Michigan.

Food Stamps

Although food stamps used to be issued as stamps, they are now issued in the form of a deposit on a card, similar to a debit card. Nearly all states use the same kind of card, called an EBT card. An EBT card, when used at a vendor that accepts it, will extract the money from an account that is refilled each month. EBT cards can be used at any vendor that accepts them, even if in a different state.

Georgia Food Stamps

When a person is issued food stamps in Georgia, the money is placed on his EBT card. If the person travels to another state that uses EBT cards, such as Michigan, then these vouchers will be able to be used there, too. However, to receive a card from the state of Georgia, a person must be a resident of Georgia. A Georgia resident can use his benefits in Michigan, but he cannot receive benefits from Michigan.

Limitations

A person from Georgia who wishes to use his food stamps in Michigan faces the same limitations on where he can use his card as he does in Georgia. In Michigan, people receiving food stamps can make purchases only from vendors authorized to receive payment from EBT cards --- called "Bridge" cards in Michigan. Likewise, in Georgia, vouchers in Michigan cannot be traded for any non-food item.

Considerations

According to the financial reference website Bill Eater, the only two states in which a person from Georgia might not be able to use his EBT card are Wyoming and Ohio. This is because these states do not use EBT cards --- they use another kind of card called a smartcard. Because these cards are different, a vendor which accepts smartcards would have no method of reading EBT cards.